Berlin in B&W

Berlin is not a pretty city per se, but it’s a very cool one. A city full of history that has gone through a lot, you can see remnants of it as you walk through the city and its neighborhoods and architecture change. Everything is colossal and you can feel the power of Germany. Aside from the history, it’s a very young and hip city with tons of things to do from good food and beer to music, art, and great museums.

Strolling down Karl-Marx-Allee from Alexanderplatz in Mitte, you pass endless blocks of grand but bland buildings taking you back to the socialist era.

After some time of monotony, your attention may be drawn to some pretty, tree-lined streets that call you to turn right into what turns out to be the cool, alternative, artsy neighborhood of Friedrichshain. Here, you can find loads of bars and restaurants with outdoor seating, if you’re lucky enough to go in the summer, along with some of Berlin’s clubs.

Continuing towards the river, you finally run into the East Side Gallery. Here you can admire the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall and the famous art you’ve seen on TV or in pictures.

One of the best places to feel the impact of World War II and the Holocaust I felt was the Topography of Terror. This now mostly vacant site was home to the the institutions responsible for Nazi execution. This is the place where a lot of bad and impactful decisions were made. Here you can also read about everything that happened at that time.

Another emotional place to visit is the Holocaust Memorial. As you wander through the alleys of what appear to be tombstones, you start going deeper in while the tombstones become taller and you feel lost and immersed in death.

Finally is the grand architecture that made me feel like the Germans like to show how powerful they are. Wherever you go, there are colossal buildings – historical monuments that tourists flock to, government offices, museums, war memorials, cathedrals, and so on. Everything is grand, Berlin almost puts Rome to shame. Almost.